Amirah

Valentine’s Day is nothing without a hot red number—a bold red outfit that hugs you and kisses you in all the right places; something that will make you come alive and will spark a quiet, inviting fire. Sounds tempting? Amirah embodies the above-mentioned perfectly.

Amirah

Our covergirl hails from Grace, Vieux Fort. And as you can see, she’s no ordinary girl. Her bouncy, untamed (stubborn!) ‘fro, never ending legs, svelte frame, chocolate skin and exotic features without a doubt, will reel you in, but it’s her sparkling personality that makes her a perfect 10. She dances without music, she laughs from within, is amiable, and fits in effortlessly.

Kayla ‘Amirah’ Marie-Luce, 21, goes by ‘Amirah’ most times. The Saint Lucian model, daughter to a French mum and Saint Lucian dad, made her (official) debut in the modelling world in September of last year, and already she stands out—her portfolio is breath-taking.

But Amirah stated that modelling, initially, was never the plan. It was her loved ones who encouraged her to pursue a career in the field as she “has the walk and the looks.” (There’s no denying there).

“When I was in form 3, there was a modelling show at the school; a student designer was making outfits for Creole Day and she told me that she wanted me to model her outfits,” the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School (V.F.C.S.S) graduate said, adding that she had received high praises and encouragement subsequently, however, did not give much thought to it at the time, as she was focused primarily on performing well at school.

She later fell in love with it—she’s not giving up academics just yet however. The model, soon, will be studying abroad.

I interviewed her on Wednesday—she left the island on Friday.

“I’m heading to Martinique then Paris where I will be studying,” Amirah said giddily.

“Two universities accepted me: Paris School of Business and Université des Antilles de la Guyane. I was actually indecisive as to which I should attend— I want to go to Paris but I want to stay in Martinique as well because of my mom.However, I decided that I most likely will go to Paristo study because I want to get my Bachelor’s in international business,as it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” she added.

Amirah hopes to become an entrepreneur in the future. In fact, the business-minded model already owns a small online business, ‘202 Fashion’ which will be closed temporarily as she is now abroad. She is working on a website however, so that work can resume in the near future.

And whilst she’s in Paris, she, naturally, will be pursuing modelling as well.

The model had to miss out on a few local opportunities as she was leaving her home country—a number of carnival bands approached the former Sofyerie Promotions Brand Ambassador, hoping that she would model their costumes, which of course was not possible. It’s not too much of a disappointment for Amirah however, as she will be setting foot in a city that is known for producing some of the world’s most glamorous models.

This model is ready to take on Paris. (No relevance to the Kardashians!)

“My portfolio is done. I have my first picture which I took professionally a few years ago in my portfolio till now—the portfolio is there, loaded and ready to go!” she said excitedly.

The former Bank of Saint Lucia (BOSL) employee says she works hard and is determined to succeed.

“I left the job in September I believe as I wanted to take some time off. I didn’t have a break after secondary school—when I was finished, I went to Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) straight from SALCC, one week after, I’m working at BOSL so I didn’t have a break,” the model explained.

“I wanted to go on adventures— see my country. I wanted to re-discover the island, to fall in love with my country before I left. Now that I’ve fallen in love, I want to cry because I don’t want to leave,” Amirah said.

Life for her is about living. Apart from her afore-mentioned passions, Amirah enjoys languages. She’s fluent in French, Creole and English and she is now taking up Spanish which has proven to be “quite easy” so far. And living for her, is doing what she loves most: learning and embracing various languages and cultures, modelling, going on an adventure and listening to the sweet sounds of musicians like Bob Marley, Jah Cure and Rihanna amongst other things.